Courttia Newland

This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Courttia Newland" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message )

Courttia Newland (born 25 August 1973) is a British writer of Jamaican and Barbadian heritage.^[1]

Background

Born in 1973 in west London, to parents of Caribbean heritage,^[2] Newland grew up in Shepherd's Bush, where he became a rapper and music producer who, together with friends, released a Drum n' Bass white label.

Writing

Novels

In 1997, Newland published his first novel, The Scholar. Further novels followed, including Society Within (1999), Snakeskin (2002) and The Gospel According to Cane (2013).

His most recent novel, A River Called Time was published in 2021 to generally positive critical attention, with

Newland wrote his first play, Estates of Mind, in 1998. His second play, an adaptation of Euripides' The Women of Troy, was a success at the 1999 Edinburgh Festival, being followed in 2000 by his third play was The Far Side.^[8] His subsequent productions include Mother's Day (2002), B is for Black (2003), Whistling Maggie (2005), Sweet Yam Kisses (2006), White Open Spaces – A Question of Courage (2006), and Look to the Sky (2011).^[9]

Other literary activity

In 2000, Newland co-edited (with Kadija Sesay) the anthology IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (reissued in a 20th-anniversary edition),^[10] and his short stories have featured in many other anthologies, including The Time Out Book of London Short Stories: Vol 2, England Calling:24 Stories for the 21st Century and Disco 2000. He co-edited The Global Village (2009) with Monique Roffey.

Newland tours extensively for the

In 2016, he was awarded the Tayner Barbers Award for science fiction writing and the Roland Rees Bursary for playwriting.[14]^[15]

In 2022, Newland's novel A River Called Time was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award.^[16]

Books

• The Scholar, novel (London: Abacus, 1997;
  ISBN 9780349108766)^[17]
• Society Within, novel (London: Abacus, 1999; Little, Brown, 2000,
  ISBN 9780349111803
  )
• Snakeskin, novel (London: Abacus, 2002)[18]
• The Dying Wish: A James and Sinclair Mystery, novella (London: Abacus, 2006)
• Music for the Off-Key: 12 Macabre Short Stories, short-story collection (London:
  ISBN 9781845230401
  )
• The Global Village (2009)
• A Book of Blues, short-story collection (Flambard Press, 2011,
  ISBN 9781906601294
  )
• The Gospel According to Cane, novel (Saqi, 2013,
  ISBN 9781846591587)^[17]
• A River Called Time, novel (
  ISBN 9781786897077)^[19]
• Cosmogramma (Canongate Books, 2021,
  ISBN 9781786897107
  )

• Estates of Mind, London, The Post Office Theatre, July 1998;
• Women of Troy 2099, London, The Post Office Theatre, 31 July 1999;
• The Far Side, London,
  The Tricycle Theatre, Summer 13 August 2000; London, The Tabernacle Community Centre
  , 22 October 2001;
• Mother’s Day, Hammersmith, The Lyric Theatre, 16 September 2002;
• B is for Black, London,
  Oval House Theatre
  , 14 October 2003;
• Whistling Maggie, London, Oval House Theatre Upstairs, 29 November 2005; different production 13 June 2006;
• Sweet Yam Kisses, Hammersmith, The Lyric Theatre, 11 February 2006.
• Look to the Sky, National Tour, October–November 2011

Produced stories

• An Age Old Problem, 10-minute motion picture, Brent Youth Arts Service Crime Diversion Project, Massive Video, 1996;
• Rage, 10-minute motion picture, written and directed by Newland, Massive Video, 1997;

Further reading

• Bentley, Nick. "Courttia Newland, Society Within". In Contemporary British Fiction (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 75–83.
  ISBN 978-0-7486-2420-1
  .